Child and Youth Portraits

Submit a photographic portrait of a baby, child, or youth. --- Photos of children can be very appealing, but it can be particularly challenging because they probably won't follow your directions. Having experience with child psychology is very helpful here.

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Announced:

Thursday, 14th July, 2011 (GMT)

Submissions:

Thursday, 21st July, 2011 –
Wednesday, 27th July, 2011
(GMT)

Voting:

Thursday, 28th July, 2011 –
Wednesday, 3rd August, 2011
(GMT)

Processing rules:

I would think that minimal post-processing would work best for these kind of photos, but be your own judge of this.

If you photograph teens, usually you will get better cooperation if you involve them in your process, including post-processing.

Capture date rules:

No restrictions.

Additional rules:

Please follow dpreview's guidelines for submitting images.

Consider taking your photos in daylight. Children can move fast and may not want to sit still for a photograph, and so you risk blur and out-of-focus images. Due to intrinsically faster focusing and faster available lenses, DSLRs are better than compacts here.

To keep children from crying, try giving them a favorite toy, and try to be funny.

Children will do what they want to do, and so you have to be patient. They have short attention spans, so be sure to do any set-up ahead of time.

Having the parents nearby -- or in the photo -- may make things go smoothly.

Teens are considered to be very difficult subjects due to extreme sensitivity and self-conciousness: you may get the best results if you consider their ideas, and involve them in making the photo.

Teens may be photographed best when among friends and familiar surroundings. Be aware that teen photos will usually become quickly dated.